Link to the study - European Parliament - Europa

Policy Department D: Budgetary Affairs
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Government recognized that 'it may also be more appropriate to delay particular operations to
benefit from new or developing technologies or from further development of existing best practice,
or to take advantage of radioactive decay.' The best solution should be determined on a case-by-case
basis (UK Government 2004).
At Sellafield a deferred decommissioning strategy for the nuclear power plants was chosen.
According to the Decommissioning plan (NDA 2011b) the Calder Hall site will enter a 'care and
maintenance phase' in 2024 and Windscale Pile 1 and 2 in 2030. Between 2105 and 2115 the Calder
Hall site should be finally cleared. The final site clearance is planned for 2120. The care and
maintenance phase means that the reactors buildings will be made 'safe and secure and placed under
a routine surveillance schedule' until the final stage of decommissioning will start after approx. 70 to
80 years. This deferred decommissioning as well as the continuous decommissioning both had been
shown by the Strategic Environmental Assessment to offer long-term environmental benefits, as NDA
explains in its decommissioning strategy (NDA 2011c). However, NDA acknowledged in the same
paper that the continuous decommissioning potentially provides the greatest benefit. Nevertheless,
NDA chose the deferred option arguing that a care and maintenance phase will take advantage of the
natural radioactive decay of the nuclear materials and to allow the establishment of disposal facilities
prior to the clearance phase.
3.3.2. Organisation structure of the decommissioning
At Sellafield, the company Sellafield Ltd is the responsible Site License Company that manages and
operates the decommissioning in Sellafield. NDA`s responsibility is to oversee Sellafield Ltd.
After a 2 year phase of completion, Nuclear Management Partners (NMP) was chosen on 11 th July,
2008, as a new Parent Body for Sellafield Ltd. The Nuclear Managements Partners Ltd was especially
created to bid for the Sellafield PBO competition. It is a consortium of the companies URS of the US,
the British AMEC, and AREVA of France. The initial contract is for five years, with extension options to
17 years (NDA 2008). Every five years the process will be reviewed (NDA 2011b). The NDA and NMP
entered into a contractual arrangement via a Parent Body Agreement, and the NDA and Sellafield Ltd
agreed a Deed of Variation to the existing Management & Operations Contract to take account of the
new Parent Body arrangements.
The roles and responsibility as well as the finance flows in 2011 and 2012 are shown in Figure 17.
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